Meter housing

Claim 2

A housing adapted to be used to house a meter or the like underground, said housing including: a. a member having opposite ends and a hollow interior defined at least partially by a side wall, said member having a first opening in one of said ends; b. a cover engaging portions of said member adjacent said one end and is at least partially supported by said member, said cover overlies at least a portion of said first opening partially closing same and has a second opening communicating with said interior, said second opening has a size smaller than said first opening; and c. a brace sized and shaped to fit within the interior of member and is removably retained therein, said brace is generally normal to said side wall and has at least one notch extending partially inwardly from the periphery of the brace and is defined by an edge, said edge is spaced from the opposite side of the brace a distance less than the distance across said second opening.

Claim 3

The housing as set forth in claim 1 including: a. a lid removably engaging portions of said cover and operable for selectively closing said opening.

Claim 4

The housing as set forth in claim 2 wherein: a. said member is generally cylindrically shaped.

Claim 5

The housing as set forth in claim 3 wherein: a. said brace has a plurality of said notches spaced around the periphery thereof and is releasably retained in said member by frictional engagement with said sidewall.

Claim 6

The housing as set forth in claim 3 wherein: a. said cover has a pair of spaced apart flanges extending from a surface thereof and which form a groove therebetween, said groove has an end portion of said member therein with one flange being on one side of said wall and the other flange being on the other side of said wall.

Claim 7

A housing adapted to be used to house a meter or the like underground, said housing including: a. a generally cylindrical member having a side wall and first and second ends with said second end having a first opening; b. a cover having a pair of flanges extending from a surface thereof with said flanges being spaced apart defining a groove therebetween, said cover is in engagement with said cylindrical member and has an end portion of same received within said groove, said cover overlies a portion of said second end partially closing said first opening and has a through second opening sized smaller than said first opening; c. a brace sized and shaped to fit within the cylindrical member and is removably retained therein normally in a position generally normal to said side wall, said brace has at least one notch which extends inwardly from the periphery of the brace whereby one width dimension of the brace is smaller than the largest dimension of the second opening whereby said brace is removable through said second opening; and d. a lid removably mounted on said cover for selectively closing said second opening.

Claim 8

A housing adapted to be used to house a meter or the like underground, said housing including: a. a generally cylindrical member having a side wall and first and second ends with said second end having a first opening; b. a cover having a pair of flanges extending from a surface thereof with said flanges being spaced apart defining a groove therebetween, said cover is in engagement with said cylindrical member and has an end portion of same received within said groove, said cover overlies a portion of said second end partially closing said first opening and has a through second opening sized smaller than said first opening; c. a brace sized and shaped to fit within the cylindrical member and is removably retained therein normally in a position generally normal to said side wall, said brace has at least one notch which extends inwardly from the periphery of the brace whereby one width dimension of the brace is smaller than the largest dimension of the second opening whereby said brace is removable through said second opening; and d. a lid removably mounted on said cover for selectively closing said second opening.